St. Foy, QB Plane Crash, Mar 1979

St. Foy, Que. (UPI) -- Seventeen people died and seven were seriously injured Thursday night in the fiery crash of a Quebec Air turboprop that plunged into a field and shattered into three pieces minutes after taking off.
The dead included all three crew members and 14 passengers, a Quebec Air spokesman said today. The seven injured were reported out of danger but in serious condition with burns and fractures.
The Fairchild F-27 aircraft, bound for Montreal, took off from St. Foy's L'Ancienne Laurette airport in suburban Quebec City at 6:50 p.m. EST Thursday.
"Off the take-off, Quebec Air flight 255 advised the control tower of engine trouble and was given immediate permission to make an emergency landing," Derek Crossen, director-general of the regional airline, said today.
Runways were cleared. The plane circled the airport twice, then skimmed over a local restaurant with flames bursting from one engine before crashing into a field less than a mile from a runway, breaking into three pieces.
"I heard a loud explosion and rushed out and saw the plane in flames," a local restaurant worker said.
Crossen said the plane was designed to fly with one engine and he had "no idea why it didn't stay up."
Crossen said the plane's black box, a record of flight progress, was recovered from the wreck and was in the hands of provincial transport officials investigating the crash.
Firemen, who arrived within minutes, were unable to approach the burning wreckage for some time because of the extreme heat.

Daily Intelligencer Doylestown Pennsylvania 1979-03-30

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17 KILLED IN QUEBEC PLANE CRASH.

Quebec (CP) -- Investigators were sifting through the rubble of a Quebecair F-27 turbo-prop early today to learn why it crashed on take-off Thursday evening, killing 17 of the 24 people aboard.
The seven others were injured, some seriously.
The crucial "black box" -- the device that records vital information about a flight -- was recovered soon after the plane crashed on a hillside near Quebec City airport in suburban Ste. Foy.
The 36-seat aircraft split into three parts and a wall of flames went shooting up after the crash.
Among the dead were the three crew members. A police spokesman said the pilot and co-pilot were trapped inside the cockpit and could not be moved until this morning. The other victims were removed shortly after the crash, which occurred at 6:50 p.m. EST.